This invention relates generally to liquid monopropellant compositions and more particularly to a liquid monopropellant composition especially useful for underwater and surface propulsion of ordnance vehicles which utilize piston or turbine engines.
The simplest type of liquid propellant system is the liquid monopropellant which basically comprises either a fuel dissolved in an oxidizer (or vice versa), or a liquid solution in which all of the oxidizer and fuel necessary for combustion is combined in a single molecule. This type of propellant is generally preferred over other compositions because of its high degree of thrust control and because of the simplicity of the feed system necessary to feed the composition to the combustion chamber of the reaction motor; there being required only a single pump, a single storage tank and a single feed line. Presently, however, the state-of-the-art of liquid monopropellants is generally inadequate for military and other applications since a great portion of their combustion products are not water soluble and contain corrosive gases. Insoluble products are deleterious to military operations because they are the prime cause of surface wake which facilitates enemy detection of an underwater vessel or vehicle, while the presence of corrosive gases such as HCl after combustion in the motor chambers of the propelled vehicles is deleterious for obvious reasons.
Other disadvantages of conventional liquid monopropellants result from their high sensitivities, high freezing points and toxicity, which cause many problems in the areas of handling and storage.